The overall goal is to provide a comprehensive empirical assessment of problems that AIDS poses for the older population in Thailand, the Asian country where the epidemic is the most advanced. Despite extensive research on the epidemiology of AIDS, little attention has been given to older adults who become infected. Even less is known about non-infected individuals impacted by the disease, i.e., those who may depend upon or who become responsible for the care of infected persons and their dependents. The impact can be substantial for older persons, especially in developing countries such as Thailand where infected adults often need to rely on their elderly parents for care and where the loss of an adult child can jeopardize the familial support on which the older population typically depends. The project has five specific aims: 1) To determine the demographic magnitude of older persons affected by AIDS (OPAA) as a result of the infection of their children and grandchildren; 2) To determine the specific consequences of AIDS among adult children and grandchildren for older persons; 3) To assess the knowledge, attitudes, and practices of older persons related to AIDS including care giving practices; 4) To assess the demographic significance of the proportions of older persons infected with and dying of AIDS (older PWAs); and 5) To assess the characteristics and circumstances of older PWAs and how these features may differ from those of younger adults with AIDS. A multi-method approach is employed to investigate these problems. Methods include the analysis of existing surveys of older populations; the compilation and re- analysis of tabulated statistics; extraction and analysis of data from welfare assistance applications and health records; interviews with key informants; in-depth interviews with older PWAs and OPAAs; focus group discussions of local health volunteers and OPAAs; and small scale intensive sample surveys of OPAAs and comparison groups.
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